Director Ridley Scott and "Prometheus" is Not Out To Scare You Again

In 1979, the film "Alien" defined the science fiction horror genre. For the first time moviegoers watched a horrific monster hatching from humans and killing the rest one at a time. For the first time, moviegoers were treated to a horror film in space, not in a creepy lonely house. 

The success of a previous science fiction film in 1977, Star Wars, epitomized "good versus evil" on a galactic scale. Audiences, though, were drawn to Alien because, rather than watching battles for the balance of galactic power, the crew of the Nostromo battled the Alien Xenomorph for the balance of survival. Alien was more realistic that people could relate to. 

Aliensoon spawned a franchise with three more sequels, the Predator vs. Aliens movies, and hatching more Xenomorphs.

Now, Director Ridley Scott returns to the genre with the prequel "Prometheus." Despite the similarities between the Alien films and Prometheus, Scott deviates from the original.

With Alien, Ridley Scott also launched the iconic character of Ellen Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver.

Ripley was the first female character to tackle a monster on the large screen. The role continued in the 80's and 90's. Alien and its sequels were so groundbreaking that, from then on, women in film no longer cowered before physically superior adversaries.

In Prometheus, the main character is a female again, Elizabeth Shaw, played by Noomi Rapace. In the film, she becomes a survivor, trooper, and warrior out of necessity. Typical Ripley changeover.

In the film, Elizabeth Shaw is an archeologist. During excavations, she finds evidence that humans have been genetically engineered by extraterrestrials. Her findings inspire a mission in search of humanity's creators. They land on the planet where the first Alien film took place.

However, in Prometheus, Ridley Scott does not follow the same pattern as in the previous Alien films. This film stands on its own since it questions the theory of evolution.

However, the film has not been greeted as enthusiastically as was expected, in spite of its great story and special effects.

If you want to watch Prometheus but missed it in theaters, you can download it free.